Brazil may face backlash at Latin American summit

COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil (AP) - Brazil's role as a benevolent continental superpower may be put to the test at a two-day summit of Latin American and Caribbean leaders aimed at strengthening political and economic ties, analysts said Monday.

A spate of recent bilateral disputes has put South America's largest economic power on the defensive on the eve of the summit, which gets under way on Tuesday.

The meeting ``will be a real test to Brazil's leadership,'' said Mauricio Cardenas, director of the Latin America Initiative at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington and Colombia's former minister of economic development.

``At the end of the day, Latin America will emerge as a much-divided region, with Brazil unable to play the role of a unifying force,'' Cardenas said.

Ecuador has been engaged in a weekslong fight with Brazil over debt payments for a problematic hydroelectric project. Paraguay is angry about recent Brazilian military exercises conducted near the two nations' border and Venezuela has challenged Brazil's idea for a regional defense council by inviting the Russian Navy to visit.

The disputes add up to potential problems for summit host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a center-leftist seen by the United States as an effective counterbalance to the region's strident socialists.

Cuban President Raul Castro told reporters after arriving at the summit's headquarters in the beachside resort of Costa Do Sauipe on Monday night that he's willing to meet with President-elect Barack Obama to discuss the 50-year U.S. economic blockade of Cuba.

``If Mr. Obama wants to discuss it, we'll discuss it,'' Castro said. ``If he doesn't want to discuss it, we won't discuss it.''

Compounding Brazil's problems is the world financial crisis, which is hitting the region hard because of lower global demand for Latin America's raw materials. Brazil's strong finances make it better prepared to weather the crisis, which is a source of envy for other nations.

One summit goal self-destructed Monday before the leaders even arrived when ministers of South America's Mercosur nations - Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - failed to agree on a key summit goal of ending a double tariff on goods imported from outside the trade bloc.

Some analysts say Latin American leaders are unlikely to openly criticize Brazil, which during the past five years has become an undisputed regional heavyweight based on the size of its economy.

``No government is likely to rebuff Brazil's initiative, given the country's enormous economic and political weight and the fact that it is at the ideological center in Latin America,'' said Michael Shifter, director of the Andean program at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington.

``Whatever frustration and resentments Brazil's neighbors feel will be held in check,'' Shifter said.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the meeting marks an important step for the region to break free of U.S. influence.

``There's no doubt that a new historic era is beginning,'' Chavez said.